Me and my Mouth

...wut?

I know, I could go in a whole bunch of different directions with a title like that. It's not what you think. Probably what I'm going to write about is the last thing you'd ever think of. I actually just want to dedicate this to one little quirk of mine: my speech patterns. I have actually managed to figure out the origin of most of them over the past 19 years of my life, so we'll see how this goes.

My biggest "inspiration"

I'm quite proud of my quirky speech patterns. They make me unique. They're one of the few things that I can count on that people will find funny (or possibly, weird) about me. A little bit of them creep into my writing, but for the most part, they stay out and my writing stays professional. My friends and family always laugh and tease me about silly things I say and how I pronounce things. You wouldn't be surprised if I told you that they mostly stem from my childhood TV watching, would you? No, I didn't think so.

I read this article not too long ago that said the subconscious will start assimilating traits from your favorite characters from books and movies over time, the more you watch/read them. Therefore, you will start acting like them, dressing like them, talking like them, etc. You see where I'm going with this?

My first speech "impediment", I suppose you could call it, comes from Tigger. Yes, I have finally figured it out! After years of wondering. Actually several of my speech patterns stem from here, I've noticed, but the biggest one is the pronouncing things as they're spelled. Words like "knight" or "pizza" or "hola" or "hallucination". I actually say the "K" in "knight". I pronounce "pizza" as "pee-zz-uh". I say "hole-uh". I say "ha-look-in-ae-shun". I do this because I grew up watching Tigger do it all the time. Another part of it was that it was a spelling technique I used in school. I knew how to spell it because that's how I pronounced it in my head. Then I just started saying the words like that out loud for fun and to be funny, and it sort of stuck. I seriously cannot drop this one, it's become such a habit that I need to focus in order to say it correctly sometimes. So, it's become a speech impediment rather than a speech pattern.
Also, I suppose this next one is a stick-on to the 'pronouncing things as they're spelled', (although it's not exactly doing that). It's how I sometimes pronounce words with "ible" on the end. Like "horrible" or "terrible" or "incredible". I say "ibibble" instead of just "ible". "That's horribibble!" or "How incredibibble!". This one also got latched on from Tigger. He does the exact same thing all the time.

The second one comes from Tigger as well. Making up words. Tigger would always make up words like "Tigger-nometry" or "hear-llucinations" or "hipper-posterous". I know I've come up with a couple words before, but I've mostly come up with phrases (mostly interjections), such as "Holy fudge muffins!" or "Sweet celery sticks!". Not quite as clever as Tigger, but still. Oh! I've thought of a word I use on occasion: "embarrassible" (embarrassing and horrible combined). You use it as such: "How embarrassible!" or "That's embarrassible."

My third one is the non-descriptive rant. The only one not stemmed from Tigger. I actually mentioned this one recently in a previous post, not by that name, but still. It stems from the TV show, Kim Possible, from watching my favorite character, Ron Stoppable. He would always get hurt or something and cry out saying something like: "Ow! The hot steamy badness!" or "The thorns! They hurt with the poking!". I do that. Point out the obvious and/or be non-descriptive in my rants while under pressure or in pain.

Pivotal Moments in my Childhood

5) THE HARRY POTTER MOVIES CAME OUT

I can hardly remember when the first movie came out, I can barely even remember seeing it for the first time (lame, I know). Same with the second one. The first one I have a relatively clear memory about is the third one, I actually remember seeing that one, but there wasn't anything too special about that experience. I'm sure there was a lot of hype back when the first movie was first announced (of course there was), but I just remember when the last two movies were coming out (the last book split into two parts). Holy cow, so much hype! Potterheads took over my other blog temporarily when the last movie came out.

4) DUMBLEDORE DIED

Goodnightly! Possibly one of the saddest moments of my existence! I got the 6th book shortly before my family and I headed up to Utah... or Idaho? for a Christensen family reunion. I read it during the entire car ride and spent most of my time reading it while we were up there. I can actually remember the exact moment when I read Dumbledore's death. Luckily I was alone, because I was probably pulling some weird faces that would have worried some people. I was upstairs in the Dearden's home (so it must have been Utah!) on my "bed" in the middle of the day, I'm not sure where everyone was. I was very intrigued and weirded/freaked-out by the horcrux experience that I had just read, and then Snape freakin' kills Dumbledore! Oh my freakin' camels on horses! Of all the grrr! I was shocked, then devastated, then furious, then unable to read through my tears. I had to wait forever to talk about it with someone though because NO ONE had finished it! I was like "why do you people read so slow!?!??"

3) KIM POSSIBLE AND RON STOPPABLE GOT TOGETHER

I remember watching the latest Disneychannel original movie back in like 6th or 7th grade, Kim Possible: So the Drama, thinking it was a pretty good movie, even better than the last Kim Possible movie they made, then all of a sudden, it's the end, at the prom, and Kim and Ron are dancing together and they kiss! I was just like, "Whoa! No wait, what?". Then I had rewind and watch again to fully compute, then I was like, "Ahhhhhhhhhhhh! OMGOMGOMG! 8DDD". And the next day my friends and I were flipping out over it at school. Kim Possible was one of the most popular shows back in the day, practically everybody watched it and just that Kim and Ron had been best friends forever and then they kiss, it was just like I could hear the hallelujah chorus. For some reason, I hadn't really seen it coming, but once it happened, I was unspeakably happy (although looking back, I should have seen it coming, there were lots of things leading up to it).

2) SIRIUS BLACK DIED

Oddly enough, I think I remember this getting more "freaking" than Dumbledore's death did. Probably because it was the first major/likeable character's death in the series. I remember reading the 5th book (it was the first one I read on my own without my mom reading it to me) and getting very into the intensity of the battle at the ministry, then all of a sudden Sirius is dead. It was another one of those moments where I had to go back and read it again and again. Then I was crying, like actual tears were coming out of my eyes. How could JK Rowling do this!?!! He was like my favorite character and Harry's only family and he was awesome and, and... *cries* It was truly devastating and me, my friends, and fans didn't stop talking about it for weeks.

1) DISCOVERING THAT THE DISNEY "D" WAS NOT A "G"

I cannot pinpoint the exact moment I figured this out, but I think every child has this moment at some point in their life. It's just that "Ah-ha!" moment. But seriously, doesn't it look like a backwards "G"? I distinctly remember as a little kid, honest to goodness thinking it was actually a "G", even though I knew it said Disney. I even remember learning to read and I could read the rest of the word "isney", but I still thought that the first letter was a "G", but I just ignored it and thought it was some sort of weird pronunciation/spelling thing. I thought, for the longest time, that you spelled Disney "Gisney", but still pronounced it "Disney". I don't remember the moment when I recognized the "D" within the "G", but I think I was older, after I knew how to read.

Catchiest Theme Songs

As I was titling this, I found myself wishing that I could come up with more creative titles for some of my posts. Oh well. Anyways, I recently watched this guy on YouTube talking about what he thought were the catchiest theme songs ever and why. He made some pretty good arguments, but I decided to make my own list. By golly, it was tough, but I made a list of my top 6 (because I want to go one step beyond the norm) from least to catchiest.

6) Doctor Who

Listen here

I know, you're probably shocked that this isn't further up on the list, but I had to be honest with myself that it just didn't top some of the other theme songs on my list. It's the only one on my list that doesn't have words. But seriously though, every time I hear that "wrrrrrreeeeeooooorrrrrr" at the beginning I just have to start singing along (even though it doesn't have words). But every true Whovian knows what "ooweeoo" means.

5) Phil of the Future

Listen here

This was my SHOW when I was younger! As I was trying to think of every TV show I had ever watched so I could think of their themes, I remembered this show and a huge grin came to my face. This show was the bomb! But I'm not here to talk about the show, I'm talking about the theme. Not much to say other than I just think it's catchy XP

4) Kim Possible (Call Me Beep Me)

Listen here

There's so many parts of this song that you can't help, but sing along with (if you aren't singing along with the whole thing). Like every time it says "Kim Possible" *shrugs*, you can't help it. You have to say it with her. And just the clever rhyming and the catchiness of it all! "So what's the sitch?"

3) Darkwing Duck

Listen here

I've never seen a single episode of this show in my life. I don't even know what it's about (I think he's some sort of superhero or something. I don't know). Yet somehow, I know the theme song. I have to be honest, it's one heck of a catchy tune. The best part though is the "Let's get dangerous" bits. Ha! I always say it along with him in the same voice.

2) Psych (I Know You Know)

Listen here

You can't help, but rock out to this one and just sing along to every word (if not at least the chorus). I'm always air-gutairing to the beginning and then head-banging to the rest while totally singing along. This is one heck of a catch theme song. I almost put it in top spot on my list. 

1) Pinky and the Brain

Listen here

I don't know what it is about this theme, but it is ALWAYS in my head! That's why I decided to put it as #1 instead of Psych. They are both extremely catchy, but Psych's theme isn't stuck in my head very often and Pinky and the Brain is. I think that's key to being catchy; it can never leave you alone! I always find myself falling asleep: "They're Pinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain..." or something. Everything about the song is catchy, every last note. But I just love randomly quoting the beginning before the song starts about taking over the world.

My Best Friend Ron

Yeah, I don't actually know anyone named Ron, much less have a best friend with that name. But there are two characters that I am very much familiar with that are owners of that name: Weasley and Stoppable. Unlike a lot of characters I tend to analyze/rant about on this blog, these two boys have been two of my favorite characters since I was little... Well, littlish (older kid/preteen age). Both of them have a lot in common, I've realized recently. They are both the always-loyal best friend of the hero of the work they are in, they are both underachieving underdogs, they are both hopelessly immature, they are both lazy, they are both not so good with the ladies (but eventually fall for their best female friend), they are both particularly fond of food, and both are completely loveable. Additionally, both are the epitome of the best, best friend. So here are my two favorite Rons.

RON WEASLEY

The red-headed, freckle-faced (in the books) best friend of Harry Potter. He's pretty much always been my favorite character of the Harry Potter series. He serves a foil for the protagonist. While Harry is an orphan with more gold than he needs, Ron comes from a large and loving, but poor family. Harry is famous, but would rather avoid the spotlight. Ron on the other hand, is often overlooked and sometimes becomes jealous of the recognition Harry gets. Lastly, Ron is the most mediocre of his siblings, being neither an excellent Quidditch player (at first), a noteworthy student, nor "the daughter [his] mother always wanted". All these factors have combined to cause Ron some serious insecurities. All the while though, he remains (for the most part) steadfast by Harry's side. He is rather immature, which gives him a major role in comic relief (although his brothers, Fred and George, mainly take that role in my opinion. But they're not main characters, so moving on.) Like when his wand gets snapped in the second book, that sets off a number of funny moments ("eat slugs!", or Lockhart losing his memory), or when he "asked" Fleur Delacour to the Yule Ball in the fourth book. He's got some great one-liners too (see below). He's also very brave. He never hesitates to put himself into extremely dangerous situations with his best friends Harry and Hermione, and as shown on many occasions, he would rather die than have someone he cares about harmed. He risks his life on many occasions, and his bravery does not go unnoticed by his friends (or fans). Ron is also a person who likes to do things the easy way. He does not like to work hard (like he always tries to copy off Hermione). This peculiar trait does not seem to go away even after he grows up. For example, he confunds his driving examiner in the seventh book and simply says of it, "Oh, well I could always use a Supersensory Charm for that."

FAVORITE QUOTES:
Albus Potter: "Why are they all staring?"
Ron: "Don’t let it worry you. It’s me. I’m extremely famous."

Ron: "Viktor? Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet?"

Ron: (sitting bolt upright in bed) "Spiders... the spiders... they want me to tap-dance. And I don't want to tap-dance!" 

Harry: "You tell those spiders, Ron." 

Ron: "Yeah, tell them... I'll tell them..." (falls straight back asleep) 

Ron: "She's gone mental, Hermione has. I mean, not that she wasn't always mental, but now it's out in the open for everyone to see!"

Hermione: "Don't play."
Ron: "Say you're ill."
Hermione: "Pretend to break your leg."
Ron: "Really break your leg."

Hermione: "Ron, we're supposed to show the first-years where to go!"
Ron: "Oh, yeah. (to the first-years) Hey-hey you lot! Midgets!"

Ron: "It's obvious. You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick, you know. (imitates Hermione) Oh, Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong..."

Ron: "Percy wouldn't recognize a joke if it danced naked in front of him wearing Dobby's tea cozy."

Ron: (about the crystal ball) "I don't need help. It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight."

Professor Trelawney: "Look at the cup, tell me what you see!"
Ron: "Oh yeah... well, Harry's got a sort of wonky cross... that's trials and suffering. And, uh, that there could be the sun, and that's happiness, so... you're gonna suffer... but you're gonna be happy about it..."

Ron: "Why spiders? Why couldn't it be "follow the butterflies"?"

Ron: "IF WE DIE FOR THEM, I'LL KILL YOU HARRY!"


RON STOPPABLE

Kim Possible's best friend and sidekick (and later, boyfriend). One of my favorite cartoon characters of all time! His name's a play on the word "unstoppable", which is both true and false I suppose. When I was younger, I always thought that "unstoppable" was a better word to describe Kim instead of "impossible", but now that I'm older, I guess that it serves Ron just as well. He hardly ever gives up no matter what's thrown at him, like seriously. Even though he handles what's thrown at him in less butt-kick ways than Kim (his ways normally consist of bumbling around, screaming, and running), he still pulls through and never abandons his duty. His main duty is normally the distraction (which is why he does a lot of running and such). His bumbling itself is normally distraction enough, but sometimes he comes up with clever (or stupid) ways to distract the bad guys so that Kim can shut down the laser, or deactivate the bomb, or whatever. Like Ron Weasley, he serves as a main source of comic relief (along with his pet naked mole rat, Rufus). There's a lot of running gags associated with him such as he often loses his pants (it becomes such a common occurrence that he is no longer embarrassed by it and it becomes known as "The Pants Thing"), or his many phobias (such as monkeys, bugs, garden gnomes, or mechanical horses, to name a few. All mostly stemming from his traumatizing summer camp experience as a child at Camp Wannaweep), or the villains can never remember his name, often referring to him as "that guy" or "the sidekick" or "the buffoon" (Monkey Fist is the only villain to ever remember his name, which Ron openly respects him for). He's the inventor of the "Naco" (half nacho-half taco) at his favorite fast food restaurant, Bueno Nacho and even temporarily became a millionaire from its royalties. Also like Ron Weasley, he serves as a foil for the protagonist, opposing Kim's drive and competitiveness with his laid-back personality. He faces a lot of the same insecurities and issues as Ron Weasley does, but most of them are played off in a more comical tone than in the HP series.
I've come to realize where I've picked up some of my speech patterns from though. Yeah, from dis guy. "Ow! The hot steamy badness!" or "The thorns! They hurt with the poking!". I've still yet to figure out if I got the pronouncing-words-like-they're-spelled from a TV show.

FAVORITE QUOTES:
Ron: This is the cafeteria, where I'm told you can find a nutritious, hot meal. I haven't yet, but your mileage may vary.

Kim: (catching Bonnie and Ron kissing) WHAT. IS. THE. SITCH!?!!
Ron: Hey, I was the kissee here, not the kisser!

Ron: 'Scuse me, scary orb thing? Where are you taking us?
Robot: The attitude adjustment center.
Kim: (looking ahead) Isn't that the high school?
Robot: Prepare to be drained of all individuality and spirit.
Ron: Yep, high school.

Shego: Where's Possible?
Ron: (shouts) She's not my girlfriend!
Shego: Whoa there, never said she was.
Ron: Oooooh, right... (laughs nervously) ...awkward.

Ron: Aw, Fuji. Why is it ALWAYS monkeys? Why can't I ever be attacked by crazed super models?

Kim: You do know what happens in February, don't you Ron?
Ron: Groundhog Day? Presidents Day? Dental Health Month! Ooh, that reminds me. (pulls toothbrush out of his pocket) Happy Dental Health Month, KP.
Kim: Valentine's Day.
Ron: Oh, I don't celebrate. You know I never had a girlfriend... (realizes) Holy canoli! I have a girlfriend on Valentine's Day!

(Giant monkey roars in Ron's face)
Ron: Dude, personal space.
Preteen Ron: Future me isn't afraid of monkeys. I get brave!

Toddler Ron: Leave her alone! It's her turn. Taking turns is the basic foundation of preschool. The jungle-law of daycare is behind us. We have structure! We have rules!

Ron: (after Bueno Nacho is destroyed) Why is it never Cow n' Chow?

(After dropping into a tank of sharks)
Ron: Why is it never otters? I wouldn't mind dropping into a tank of otters. They're fun!

Ron: Taking over the world is one thing, but you ruined Bueno Nacho. You're gonna pay. 

Dr. Drakken: You can't be serious. 

Ron: (scowling) Note serious face. 

Dr. Drakken: Please, have mercy, uh - the name escapes me - oh, I beg of you! 

Ron: Say my name. SAY IT! 

Dr. Drakken: It's... uh, er... Stoppable! 

(crack of thunder) 

Ron: (quietly) Boo-yah.

Stoppable and Rufus. And Weasley and Scabbers.

Not the best outfits for their formal dances. Though Stoppable is a bit
less ashamed of his apparel.

From friend-zoned to BF

The protagonist's school rival (Bonnie Rockwaller and Draco Malfoy) almost 
seems to pick on their rival's friends more than their actual rivals sometimes.

Once they actually try out for a sport (Quidditch and Football
respectively), they are both quite good.

Crazy Meyer Fam-Blam

I hail from one of the nuttiest families ever! It's true. But I am not ashamed like some people are of their crazy families, not one bit. Oh sure, sometimes I shake my head or roll my eyes at some of their odd behaviorisms, but I accept them for who they are just the same, (and I have my own quirks as well so I can't really talk). I realized just how cuckoo my family really is after a couple of semesters at college of talking about family lives with other people. After hearing about my roommates', friends', and FHE group members' home lives, I've really come to appreciate just how much more exciting my family is than their's XD (and I don't mean that in a negative way. I'm sure they've got entirely happy and enjoyable home lives). It's just that, back at my home we've got "Hilarity Hour" (as my Mom calls it), we play pranks on each other, we've got crazy dogs, we quote movies and comedians and stuff to liven things up, we sing loudly and dance while blindfolded, we make movies, we have boxing matches, and we try to imitate Irish dancing, just to name a few things.

First off, I'll quickly explain what Hilarity Hour is. It's that time of day when all of us reach the height of our hyperness and just go absolutely nuts. It typically does not last toooo long which is why my mom dubbed it Hilarity Hour. Sometimes, there is more than one Hilarity Hour in one day, depending on different circumstances such as how tired we are or how much sugar we've consumed. The time of day varies although it's usually in the late afternoon or evening after we're all home from school and Dad is home from work, when we're all really tired and about to crash.

A picture taken during Hilarity Hour. Apparently it was
"really bad" on this particular night.

DAD (aka Brad)

The root of our family's weirdness. The salsa-loving, pancake-making guy who loves his Vita-mix and Apple supplies. He constantly does goofy things, sometimes trying to embarrass us (like his "speed walk" or his "butt dance". Oh dear). Everybody who has ever met him loves him though, there's something wrong with you if you don't. He makes life fun. I fancy myself more like him than my mom personality-wise, though I have traits from both of them. I did not inherit his general outgoingness unfortunately. He is not afraid to just be himself in front of people (which is a big loveable goofball). His laugh is totally contagious too (he has several, but his full on outburst laugh is the most contagious). You should see him when he's taken his sleeping pills though (or maybe you shouldn't), one of the funniest things you'll ever witness.

MOM (aka Stefani)

The more mellow of the five of us, I'd say, but definitely not out of the ring of silliness. I'd say she plays the straight man of our comedy team (like Abbott in Abbott and Costello). She's silly, but not always in the entirely cooky way like Dad is. She fun and outgoing, but in a different way than Dad (I didn't inherit outgoingness from her either. Hmm...). The scrapbook-loving, bright-color wearing tiki head (explained below). She's kind of the butt of a lot of our jokes because she's so lovably dorky sometimes (I DO NOT mean that in a bad way!) She's also got a very contagious laugh (probably more-so than Dad's). She spends a lot of the time on the sidelines, laughing at our stupidity and cracking comments at our dispense. I don't think I've ever really seen her hyper. She's usually the one that's there laughing along with us and it's great. (Something I'd like to just say that has nothing to do with our craziness, she's very cuddly. I love giving her hugs ^_^)

ME (aka Kelsi)

And there's me. Another one of the more mellow ones of the bunch. Although, I'd classify myself just a step above my mother just because I've got a little bit of my dad in me. The Disney-loving, movie-making artist who loves British TV shows. Our family's movie sense of humor stems a lot from me, I am the movie quote queen. Whenever someone wants to remember a quote the usually ask me first. I am not typically as nutty as my dad or my siblings, but get me hyper enough and I can be. I sometimes serve my mom's role of sitting on the sidelines and cracking sarcastic comments. I'd probably classify myself the most sarcastic of the bunch (which is the majority of my sense of humor). I'm usually the first to feel bad for a snide, but joking comment I've made and I always make up for it by hugging the one I've just made the joke about. Dad has pointed this out and always laughs every time I give him a hug after I've insulted him.

SISTER (aka Afton)

What can I say about this one? She takes after my dad in the cuckoo category. Put her and him together during Hilarity Hour and well... hilarity ensues. Our sassy, dramatic, fun-loving shopaholic. She has mine and Dad's sense of humors rolled together. She's also very sarcastic and is more blunt in her sarcasm than I am. She's a big movie quoter as well. I usually go to her if I can't remember a quote or a character's name or whatever. But she is such a screwball! She's great at pulling funny faces, imitating people, and becoming a different character. She can also be a little slow and naive (sometimes it seems like she's playing dumb... maybe she is, maybe she isn't, who knows), which is where a lot of our laughs come from. She says the funniest things sometimes, also she opens her mouth really wide when she laughs, making it all the more funny. She reaches her wildest and weirdest point right before she crashes and sleeps.

BROTHER (aka Brady)

When you first meet this kid, you probably wouldn't realize what a riot he is. Most of the time, he's very mellow and laid back, just a very go with the flow type of a person. But when he gets hyper... boy does he get hyper. Our video game-playing, T-shirt wearing basketball player. He refers to himself as a monkey. This is quite accurate actually. One of the key traits to his humor is his broad imagination. He comes up with the most bizarre scenarios, characters, recipes, costumes, phrases, words, etc. I remember his stuffed monkey named Redd (he made sure we knew it was spelled with 2 D's). Or his weird recipes like Tortilla Surprise (tortilla with cheese, pieces of bread, and ketchup on it). Or his character, $teve (some sort of salesman whose job was to make lots of money by selling random stuff. He made $1000 every 8 seconds). One day he said about milk: "I just had to have one more cup of salvation." Of course, he gets crazy too. Like Afton and Dad, bouncing off the walls and stuff.

THE DOGS (aka Chase, Macy, and Troy)

Macy (left), Troy (middle), Chase (right)

Chase has since passed on, but I'm mentioning him anyways. These guys are a big contributing factor to our humor and hilarity. They are so full of energy (well at least Troy and Chase). When they squirm around on their backs like they've got an itch, or when they're so proud of themselves when they catch a squirrel, or whatever. TONS of funny stories from our house come from these guys. Like when Macy caught a mole and dropped it on Brady's lap while me and him were watching TV, then Dad chased us around the house with it, making me lock Afton out of the pantry where I was hiding. Or how about the many times they've gotten sprayed by a skunk? Just the silly expressions they give (like Troy's super cute "I want something" face. When he rests his head on your knee and looks up with his biggest puppy eyes ever). Or when Troy has way too much energy (or Chase when he was alive) and we need to burn some off, we have someone upstairs in the parents room and someone downstairs i the family room and we have him run as fast as possible between the two points. Funniest thing ever! Macy is funny too, she's just not very hyper. She tries to get on the fun of the other dogs, but she doesn't know how and ends up ruining it. It's really funny to watch. These dogs are hilarious!


Haha, inside jokes are one of our families' specialties. Here's a list of some of my favorites:

TIKI HEAD

For the full story on the tiki head, read my mom's post here, I'll just go over it briefly. Several years ago, I was asked what our family's crest would be and I said 4 monkeys and a tiki head. The monkeys were my dad and the kids and the tiki head was my mom because the four of us were always goofing off and Mom was always more serious. So whenever we come across a tiki head, Mom always has to pose by it. Whenever we feel like my mom is being a party-pooper (or anybody for that matter) we shout "TIKI HEAD!" at them.

SHARE OUR BOUNTY

My personal favorite. One night, Dad brought Panda Express home for dinner. Brady was at his friend, Esteban's house and so my mom called him to come home for dinner. She also said to invite Esteban to come over to have some as well. Afton, overhearing, was upset saying she didn't want to share our food with him. Dad berated her, saying that we should learn to "share our bounty" with others. We all laughed at Dad's choice of words. Mom then asked Dad to bless the food, jokingly asking him to ask the Lord to help us to share our bounty with others. So Dad started praying. It started out fine with the normal "we thank thee for this day" and so on. But then he said, "please bless that we will share our bounty". That did it. We all started laughing, but Dad tried to continue. But he couldn't, we kept laughing. Finally, after several minutes, we gave up and tried to start over. No good. We stopped again and Afton suggested that she prayed, but she couldn't do it either. Eventually, Dad tried again, but still couldn't do it. Finally, we agreed that we would just persevere through it no matter who laughed. (Probably at least good 10 minutes had passed by this point). So Dad started praying, very slowly through his laughter, trying to ignore everyone else's giggles. Brady and Esteban came in somewhere in the middle and saw us sniggering over our plates. Brady said later that he thought we were crying because one of the dogs had died or something. Finally we got through the prayer and ate, sharing our bounty with Esteban.

WILHEMINA HOACOX/ SEAL

We used to play a game when I was younger where my mom would pay us a certain amount of money if we could guess who was singing on the radio. She would sometimes gives us hints like the first letter(s) of their name or something like that to help us. We usually wouldn't guess it right, but there is one occasion that we did. Mom gave us the hint that the singer's same started with an S and Afton randomly yelled out "Seal!". So out of the blue, guessing a random word, she got $5. Whenever guessing again, we would always guess Seal, just in case.
Another time, my mom said the singer's initials were WH and that it was a female. I had no idea so I made up a random goofy name: "Wilhemina Hoacox!". From then on, Whitney Houston has been known as Whilemina Hoacox to us.

WOW DAD

Afton will get embarrassed or weirded out by my dad's antics sometimes. So she'll usually just say "wow Dad" dryly as she rolls her eyes or something. She says it kind of nasally which Dad noticed one day and started laughing at it. He started imitating her in an exaggerated nasally voice, laughing all the while. Then everybody started imitating her in the same exaggerated nasally voice. We all still do imitate her now after she says it, but mostly Dad.

THE POINT

I'm not even sure how this one got started. All I know is that whenever we have a family photo shoot we have to do The Point. This is when we point off to a random point in the distance with someone with an awed/dazed look on our face. (I think Brady and/or Dad might have started this).

OR... FIREWORKS

There's a looooooooong story behind this one (which you can read about on my mom's blog here), but I'll just briefly go over the joke bit here. One day Macy and Chase got lost. We found Chase before Macy and we were worried sick for her. Eventually I found her and all was well. Of course we were talking about the dramatic event later on that day and how timid Macy is. Somebody wondered how scared Macy would be of something like thunder. Everyone agreed and someone added "or fireworks". Each of us repeated the statement in agreement one by one. Then the silliness of it struck us and we started laughing. We then all started repeating the phrase over and over in different voices and different tones.


So yes, my family is weird. Do I care? Nope. Not a bit.

How many Meyers does it take to change a lightbulb?

This video never fails to make me laugh. I mean who DOES stuff like this? Our family, that's who.

A Long Time Ago, In a Galaxy Far Far Away...

Nowadays, if you say you like Star Wars even a little bit, you're automatically branded a geek. Well, then I'm happy being a geek because Star Wars is freakin' amazing! It's one of those shows that practically everyone's seen and you can't go through life without watching at least once because it's a HA-UUUGGE part of our pop culture. There are spoofs of it everywhere, people quote famous lines from it all the time, parody famous scenes, dress up like iconic characters, etc. Everyone, at least once has done the Darth Vader breathing and said "Luke, I am your father" right?

I can't say which movie I saw first. I know I saw Return of the Jedi all the way through first, but I saw bits and pieces of others before I watched that one. Quite sad that I saw the last movie first, but oh well. I didn't really understand it since I was like 6 or something. I don't remember when I saw A New Hope. I can't remember if I saw it before or after I saw The Phantom Menace. It might have been after, but I'm pretty sure I saw it before I saw Attack of the Clones, which was the only Star Wars film I saw in theaters. Then I saw Revenge of the Sith. By that point I decided that I wanted to watch all the movies in order and realized that I had never seen The Empire Strikes Back, so I watched them in order and finally watched that one for the first time.

The complete list is:
Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Episode II: Attack of the Clones
Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
Episode IV: A New Hope
Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
Episode VI: Return of the Jedi

The Star Wars saga could also be called The Story of Anakin Skywalker, I've decided. Because overall, it's all about him. His rise, his downfall, and his redemption. When people brand people who like Star Wars as geeks, that's because a lot of Star Wars fans are attached to the aliens, the lightsabers, the guns, the funky outfits and hairdos, etc. I've said thousands of times, I like movies for their plots. I don't care about special effects, setting, or whatever, just as long as I'm entertained by the story. And boy does Star Wars have an intriguing story. Most people now are bored with the Star Wars story because it's sort of old hat, but I'm still intrigued by the ingenuity of it. As innovative and interesting as the Force, the Jedi, the Deathstar, the alien species, the droids, and the space travel is, the story of the Skywalkers is what draws me in, personally. Like I said before, the saga is all about Anakin Skywalker. It could not stand without him. The first two movies are about his rise as a Jedi, the third is about his turn to the dark side, the fourth and fifth is about his rise as a Sith, and the sixth is about his redemption. Everyone knows his alter-ego, Darth Vader, better. EVERYBODY knows Darth Vader, even if you haven't seen the saga. Everyone knows the breathing sound and "The force is strong with this one" and "Luke, I am your father". Everyone misquotes that last one. It's really: "No. I am your father" in response to Luke saying: "He told me you killed him [my father]". I guess everyone just sticks "Luke" onto the beginning of it to make it more recognizable.
Funny story behind that quote too. George Lucas had a fake line in the script that said "Obi-Wan killed your father." Only five people knew what the line actually said before the movie was released. George Lucas (obviously, since he wrote it), Irvin Kershner (the director), Lawrence Kasdan (a writer), Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker) was told like five minutes before filming so he could give a proper reaction to the news, and James Earl Jones (voice of Darth Vader) who actually spoke the line (and he thought it was just a joke since he spoke both the real line and the fake line). Even David Prowse (who played Darth Vader) didn't know what it said.

"Join me. And together we can rule the galaxy as father and son."

I didn't have any initial shock to the news of Darth Vader being Luke's father since I had seen Return of the Jedi first and The Empire Strikes Back last, but I still get excited when I watch it. Just imagine hearing this awful villain, who's barely even human, claiming to be your parent who you thought was dead. I can just imagine what it would be like to be someone watching it for the first time. I would have loved to have lived back in 1980 when The Empire Strikes Back was released when NOBODY knew and everyone heard that for the first time.

Of course, the secrets don't end there, then comes Yoda's line, "There is another Skywalker". Unbeknownst to Anakin and Luke, Anakin's wife had given birth to twins who were then separated to keep them safe from their power-deranged father. Ironically, Luke had been reunited with his sister for quite some time, but they did not know of their relation.
George Lucas claims to have had the entire saga planned out from the beginning, but some people shoot down that claim saying it's unbelievable because he had Luke and Leia kiss in The Empire Strikes Back and also teased at a romantic relationship between them. Why would he do this if he always knew that they were brother and sister? My argument for that, is that obviously back then people didn't know that they were siblings, and Lucas wanted to start a romantic relationship between Han Solo and Leia. As a creative writer myself, I know it's good to have some competition in a romantic development, and the only other male character that could have presented a threat to Han was Luke. In A New Hope, Luke and Leia appeared to like each other a lot, and I noticed that a lot of people seemed to like them together (not knowing they were siblings), so Lucas, being a good filmmaker, teased at a possible relationship between them to get people to come see the movie. Of course, Luke and Leia had no idea they were related either, so why not start to have a little crush on each other? So I think it is entirely plausible that he had it planned out the entire time.

Evil Anakin

Back to Anakin's story. It was prophesied in The Phantom Menace that he would be the one that would bring balance to the force and destroy the Sith. However, he, of course, goes bad and joins the Sith instead, and it seems that the prophesy will not come true. Then it seems that it was pertaining to his son, Luke, instead; that Luke would be the one who would bring balance to the force and destroy the Sith. But then, Luke manages to unearth Anakin out of Darth Vader and he ends up killing the Emperor, thus fulfilling the prophesy after all.

Most people say that the prequel trilogy are not very good, or at least not as good as the original trilogy. I agree that they aren't as good as the original trilogy, but I still like them. I think people are too harsh on them. They say that the acting was too bland, or the special effects were too much, or characters were emotionless, or whatever. I think people are just being ridiculous. I enjoyed seeing Darth Vader before he turned evil and how he went into that black suit of armor. I liked seeing a younger Obi-Wan Kenobi, more intense lightsaber duels, the beginning of the Deathstar, how R2-D2 and C3-PO met, why Obi-Wan and Yoda were the last remaining Jedi, and so on. So what, if they weren't the same as the original trilogy, I LIKED them!

Another thing to remember about the films is the music. Star Wars has one of the most famous theme songs ever written (obviously, since it was written by John Williams. he does all the famous theme songs).

I think my favorite movie might be Return of the Jedi, then A New Hope, then Revenge of the Sith, then The Phantom Menace, then The Empire Strikes Back, then Attack of the Clones. Attack of the Clones didn't have much plot to it. It was mostly just fighting, with a quick love story thrown in.

It's hard to believe that this saga almost didn't happen. So many times, it was rejected. And even when it was finally accepted by a studio, it was threatened to be shutdown several times and wasn't taken seriously by any of the crew. Everyone thought it was too bizarre. Like there was a princess with two giant cinnabuns on the side of her head! Even Harrison Ford (Han Solo) complained about the weird things he had to say, about how he couldn't pronounce a lot of his lines. It's a mighty good thing that they endured through it and that they weren't shut down, because look at it now. (Imagine all the studios that turned Lucas down. How they must be kicking themselves!)

One of my favorite theme song spoofs 

HERE

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time

There was an enchanted forest filled with all the classic characters that we know

Or think we know.

One day they found themselves trapped in a place where all their happy endings were stolen.

Our world.

This is how it happened...

Hmm, it was only a matter of time. ^_^ I would have blogged about this show a long time ago, but I was waiting for the season to end before I did. Because I will, of course, be analyzing the major characters in this post (as well as the plot) and you find out more and more about each of them as the show goes on so I didn't want to make an assumption about something or miss something entirely. (However, there's not any real spoilers as far as the finale goes in this post).

Anyways, this is one of the two non-british TV shows I watch and thoroughly enjoy. Therefore, more people have heard of it and watch it where I come from, so I'm not entirely alone in my fangirling and obsessing. BUT, for those of you who may not know what it is about, let me enlighten you:

It is about a bunch of storybook characters who are stuck in our world, who don't remember who they are because of a curse that Snow White's evil queen cast. Their only hope of breaking the curse is Snow White and Prince Charming's daughter, Emma, who escaped the curse when she was a newborn. Emma comes across the cursed town, Storybrooke, 28 years later and the "final battle begins". Each episode tells what's going on in Storybrooke while giving background stories to each storybook character in fairytale land.

It's tradition when I blog about a movie, TV show, or book for me to give my background of how I was introduced to it. Why break that tradition now? I saw people praising it endlessly on my other blog when there were only like three episodes out. I ignored it for a while since people tend to freak out and obsess over their own things that I don't really care for a lot, over there. There weren't even that many posts about it in comparison to other posts about Doctor Who or Sherlock or whatever, so it's not like I saw it a whole lot. However, it did capture my interest a little since it was about fairytales. The posts continually made it look a little bit more interesting to me. Finally, one night, I had nothing to do in my dorm (fall semester) and decided to look the show up. I thought the pilot episode was a little bit cheesy, but everyone claimed that the show was so good, so I decided to watch the next episode. It was a little better, but I wasn't hooked, yet I still watched the third one. Finally after that one, I decided I liked it enough to keep watching it without forcing myself. I kept watching it until the most recent episode (which was episode 5, I think). By the time I watched that one, I was hooked and couldn't wait until the next one came out. Episode 7 was my first time showing any real emotional attachment for it. Then by... mmm, probably episode 12, I was so emotionally attached it, it was pretty much a lifestyle for me. Now, I basically need it as much as I need air!

So, now you know my story. On with the post!

STORYBROOKE: Every single resident in Storybrooke, Maine is a fairytale character, but none of them remember who they are. Only the mayor remembers her past identity, and it is implied that Mr. Gold remembers as well. They have been all been given fake memories, identities, professions, etc. Time is frozen there. They have been living in a haze for the past 28 years and don't remember when they came to Storybrooke, how they met each other, or anything like that. That is, until Emma arrives, then time starts moving. No one can ever come to Storybrooke, which makes the mayor awfully suspicious of Emma (and later, August when he arrives). Also, they cannot leave Storybrooke or else something bad will happen to them (mostly, all I saw were car accidents right at the town limit).

CHARACTERS:


SNOW WHITE/ MARY MARGARET BLANCHARD played by Ginnifer Goodwin

She is probably the most perfect Snow White to ever hit the screens. While being very traditional, she's also quite different from other Snow Whites in the past. The writers definitely put a twist on her character while still holding true to her story. She's most definitely not a damsel in distress. She can look out for herself. After the huntsman lets her go, the Grimm's story says that she finds the dwarfs's cottage... but it doesn't say how long it took. In this series, she spends, who knows how long, living in the forest as a thief, hoping to raise enough money to escape the kingdom and the queen's wrath. She's smart, selfless, and a total boss.
Her alter ego, Mary Margaret, is the elementary school teacher of Storybrooke. She's mostly the sweeter side of Snow White and a lot more soft spoken than her fairytale counter-part. Although, sometimes she does manage to channel her inner Snow White (like when she kick-boxed Jefferson out the window, surprising herself with her moves).

PRINCE CHARMING (aka JAMES)/ DAVID NOLAN played by Josh Dallas

I remember when I first saw him, I didn't exactly disapprove of him, but I just didn't really picture him as Prince Charming. Now, I can't see anyone else in the part! This guy makes THE most heartbreaking puppy faces! Seriously. And then he'll occasionally throw in the single tear rolling down his cheek as well. Rips my heart out every time! Anyways, moving on. He's got an interesting backstory. He's not really a prince, but he takes the place of his twin brother (who was adopted by the king and later killed) to slay a dragon for the king. However, he is roped into continuing the charade when he is forced into an engagement with a princess from another kingdom. Then he meets Snow White while on a journey through the forest and falls in love with her instead. She's the one who gave him the nickname of "Charming" saying that it "suits you" and it just sort of sticks and everyone starts calling him that. He's noble, passionate, and he definitely lives up to his nickname.

His alter ego has had a tough life. First, he was in a coma, then he had amnesia and fell in love with Mary Margaret during that time despite being "married", then he "remembered" and went back to his wife, but was still in love with Mary Margaret, then there were lots of complications that could have been prevented or improved upon by better choices. My point here is that, he is still a charmer, but he is not the best at making good decisions. He does manage to man up and try to fix things once they've been wronged though. But, you know, this is all because of the curse. He can't be Prince Charming in the real world, he can't embody all of the prince's good qualities.

EMMA SWANN played by Jennifer Morrison

Our first original character. The daughter of Snow White and Prince James. She was born shortly before the queen's curse reached the castle. It was foretold that the only person who would be able to break the curse would be Snow White's child, so a plan was put into action to save her. The original plan was that Snow White was to go into the enchanted wardrobe to be saved from the curse, but she went into labor before it was finished and Emma was born. Since the wardrobe could (supposedly) save only one person, James took newborn Emma and put her into it to be saved. The curse let her out in our world where she was discovered by a young boy (later revealed to be Pinocchio who also escaped the curse through the wardrobe). Then she was put into the foster system. When she was 18, she had a baby whom she gave up for adoption. 10 years later, that baby, grown up, found her and brought her to his home in Storybrooke.
She's an interesting character. She won't just blindly believe in something, which is why the curse isn't broken instantly (as Henry puts it "I know the hero doesn't believe at first. because if they did, then it wouldn't be a very good story."). She always needs physical proof (which is actually very frustrating most of the time. On several occasions I was shouting at the screen, "EMMA, Y U NO BELIEVE!?!"). She's one of the most grounded characters, since she's not afraid to stand up to Regina or Mr. Gold (the two people in Storybrooke whom everybody is terrified to cross).

EVIL QUEEN/ REGINA MILLS played by Lana Parrilla

Our main antagonist! She's much deeper than she originally appears to be. We find out why she hates Snow White so much, about her horrible mother, and how she was once a loving person. But now, she is just the ultimate butt-head! (Sorry for my crudeness, but I really have no other way of putting it). She is awful! Her basic grounds are that she's miserable, so everyone else should be as well. She's trying to find her own happiness and she steps on so many to try and get there. Like, OK, I can maybe understand why she is trying to ruin Snow White's life, but she ruins so many other people's lives as well (and a lot for really no reason other than she's selfish and/or unhappy). She tricked the Mad Hatter into abandoning his daughter so she could get her own father back, she separated Hansel and Gretel from their father just because she they rejected her, and she lied to Rumplestiltskin about Belle being dead because they're just very antagonistic towards each other and she was trying to hit him where it hurt. Speaking of that, I absolutely LOVE their rivalry. They're in a sort of power struggle with each other, always trying to beat each other. In the end, it's always Rumplestiltskin that comes out on top, but the queen still tries to get at him somehow. However, despite their constant antagonism, they often work together. No matter what they're doing, I love all their scenes together. They're always so intense. The queen is conniving, wicked, and downright terrible.

Her alter ego keeps her fairytale name of Regina. She is also (supposedly) the only one who remembers her past life as well. She is as equally awful as her fairytale counterpart, but is a bit more subtle about it. She still continues to try and ruin everybody's life. She does seem to genuinely love Henry... but I have yet to determine why she wanted him in the first place.

RUMPLESTILTSKIN/ MR. GOLD played by Robert Carlyle

My favorite character (even though he's a total creep). I've already written a long analysis on him, which you can read here. But I'll just put a little one here anyways. This dude is behind like EVERYTHING that ever happens (like literally, it doesn't always seem like it at first, but later...). He's probably one of the deepest characters on the show as well. You keep peeling back the layers of the onion and don't reach the end, but more buried treasure. He's more likely to be classified as a villain than a good guy, since that's the role he predominately plays in most situations, plus he's not very trustworthy. However, I say he's not really either one. He just does whatever benefits him, so if that means doing something bad, he'll do it, or if that means helping the good side, he'll do it. But he ALWAYS has a reason behind literally everything he does. And like I said earlier, he is behind pretty much everything that happens, For example, he's the one that actually created the queen's curse (but he had a deeper reason for that other than she just wanted him to), she's just the one who enacted it. Also, he wanted the curse to be broken eventually, so he set up a very complicated series of events so that it would happen eventually. He is mysterious, extremely tricky, and almost even twisted.

His alter ego is Mr. Gold. As Rumplestiltskin, he made a deal with the queen that he would tell her how to make the curse work if she would give him a good life in the new land, so she made him a wealthy pawnshop owner, who also "owns the town". Everyone in the town is more intimidated by him than they are by Regina. He still continues to be mysterious and untrustworthy in all his actions. It's implied throughout most of the season that he remembers his past life and it is later revealed whether he does or not. I love how he just trolls everyone in the town (meaning, he asks questions or makes comments to people that he knows will push their buttons and/or make them uncomfortable.)

HENRY MILLS played Jared S. Gilmore

Our other original character. Emma's biological son and Regina's adopted son. He's the only one who's not originally from the fairytale world. He's kind of the eternal hope of the show, he's the one who has undying faith that the curse is real and that it will be broken. His teacher, Mary Margaret, noticed his loneliness and gave him a storybook, hoping to counter it. This storybook, however, told all about the fairytale characters's backgrounds, how the curse was enacted, and how Emma ecaped. He believed it entirely, located Emma, and brought her back to Storybrooke so she could break the curse. He is constantly looking for proof that the curse is real, which has gotten him into trouble on occasion. He is fully aware that his adopted mother is the evil queen, and it does not help his already strained relationship with her. He's not afraid to defy or stand up to her when necessary. Overall, he is sweet, very brave, and extremely intelligent.

OTHER CHARACTERS:
Jiminy Cricket/Archie Hopper
Red Riding Hood/Ruby
Huntsman/Graham
Princess Abigail/Katherine Nolan
Magic Mirror/Sidney Glass
Pinocchio/August W. Booth
Cinderella/Ashley Boyd
Gepetto/Marco
Mad Hatter/Jefferson
Hansel and Gretel/Nicolas and Ava Zimmer

TOP 5 FAVORITE EPISODES (IN ORDER FROM GREATEST TO LEAST):
1) Heart of Darkness 
2) Red-Handed 
3) A Land Without Magic
4) Skin Deep
5) 7:15

EPISODES THAT MADE ME SOB LIKE A BABY (literally):
1) The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
2) The Return
3) A Land Without Magic

SOME BITS THAT MADE ME LAUGH:
Granny: For one thing, you were late. For another thing, you dress like a drag queen during fleet week.
Ruby: And you dress like Norman Bates when he dresses like Norman Bates’ mother!

Archie: Anger between a parent and child is the most natural thing in the world.
Mr. Gold: I think he might be here to try to kill me.
Archie:  Ah… Right… that’s… that’s not
(Archie's face here is priceless)

Prince Charming: Undo the potion. All magic can be broken.
Rumplestiltskin: Oh, yes, with “twu wuv.”
(When Rumple says this line, I can't help but think of The Princess Bride)

Graham: I thought you were a wolf.
Mr. Gold: Did I forget to shave?

Prince Charming: It’s me, Charming!
Snow White: Charming? I’m beginning to see why I drank that potion.

Prince Charming: Name your price.
Rumplestiltskin: How about... your cloak.
Prince Charming: My cloak? Why would you want my cloak?
Rumplestiltskn: It's drafty in here.

Jiminy: You must be James.
James: You can talk?
Jiminy: Yeah. And you can listen.

Prince Charming: I told you, I will always find you.
*Snow White bashes him over the head*

Henry: When did your flashes start?
Graham: Right after I kissed Emma.
Henry: You kissed my mom!?

Mary Margaret: What are you doing?
David: It's 7:45
Mary Margaret: I know.
David: I'm trying not to see you.
Mary Margaret: Well I am trying not to see you.
David: This is a problem.
Mary Margaret: Yes.
David: She's not pregnant.
*Smooch*
(This scene is hilarious to me for a number of reasons. #1- David runs away from Mary Margaret like a schoolboy afraid of cooties, #2- "she's not pregnant" is like the most unromantic line to lead into a kiss, and #3- [after the terror of the first time seeing it] Regina watching all ticked off from her car just makes it funnier to me.)

Mary Margaret: Please don't do it!
Leroy: I'm not going to jump.
Mary Margaret: You're not?
Leroy: No, are you crazy? I could hit someone. You know how much damage I could do? I'm solidly built.

Regina: My tree is dying. Why?
Mr. Gold: Perhaps it's your fertilizer.
(I totally laughed out loud here. What a troll!)

Snow White: You would really die for me?

Prince Charming: *with an arrow in his shoulder* Does it look like I'm making this up?

Mr. Gold: Two valentines? Sounds like a complicated life.
David: No. I just couldn't decide.
Mr. Gold: These are both for the same woman?
David: Well... they're both so... us.
Mr. Gold: I see.
(Mr. Gold trolling David here. He totally knows that something's going on and the smugness is written all over his face. It's hilarious.)

Happy: You are the most nasty, horrible--
Grumpy: Enough! Look what you're doing to Happy!

Emma: Hey, what's the emergency?
Henry: Shh! This is sensitive.
Emma: If it's sensitive, why are we at Granny's out in the open?
Henry: I'm hungry.
(Henry has my priorities. Food trumps subtlety)

Check out the trailer HERE